1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loading-assisting apparatus which is designed for use with a centrifuge, and which is used to make a weight adjustment to samples (e.g., blood samples) to be processed when the samples are loaded in the centrifuge.
2. Description of the Related Art
When blood samples are subject to centrifugal separation, there are two ways for loading. In one way, sample vessels holding blood samples to be tested are individually loaded in the centrifuge. In the other way, the sample vessels holding blood samples to be tested are first arranged and held in a rack, and then this rack is loaded in the centrifuge. In either way, sample groups corresponding to the respective buckets of the rotor of the centrifuge must be balanced in weight. If they are not, the rotor of the centrifuge loses its weight balance as determined in the circumferential direction. As a result, the rotor of the centrifuge does not rotate smoothly.
Centrifuges that aim to prevent an imbalanced state of rotors have been proposed to date. For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 06-320052 discloses a centrifuge wherein an imbalance correction mechanism comprising a position-adjustable weight is provided on a rotation table (i.e., a rotor) at a position adjacent to a sample cassette. Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-273271 discloses a centrifuge using a dummy centrifugal tube having a substantially equivalent weight to that of a sample-holding centrifugal tube. The dummy centrifugal tube is provided for the rotor, as needed.
In the centrifuge disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 06-320052, the rotating table (rotor) has to be provided with the imbalance correction mechanism as well as sample cassettes. This inevitably complicates the structure of the centrifuge and increases the size of the centrifuge.
The centrifuge disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-273271 has problems in that it requires a manual operation. To be more specific, the rotor of this centrifuge is rotated to check its rotating condition. In accordance with the checked rotating condition, the dummy centrifugal tube is manually replaced with another. Since adjustment made to balance the weight of the entire rotor takes time, smooth centrifugal processing cannot be expected.